I can’t write about anywhere without talking about the food!
Venice was recently in the news – tourists were given exorbitant bills. In Italian restaurants, fish may be priced by the 100g. Unsuspecting tourists think this is the full price and then freak out when the bills arrive. Beware! However, food is quite expensive in Venice. Everything is quite expensive in Venice. It’s had quite some journey to your plate.
I did read about excellent meals served in Venice. I sadly didn’t see or have one. But, for the record, Venice is beside the sea and so has a lot of seafood. In a better world, this is a no-brainer. Hint – stick to the three Ps: pizza, panini, and pasta…as usual!
The first night we decided to follow Chowhound advice and went to a fancier restaurant. It was along the Cannaregio canal so it was easy to find. We had a 72 Euro meal. Was it worth it? Judge for yourself.
Shrimp with leek starter – mushy but not badTagliatelle with scallop and porcini, I think – bit of a messCuttlefish with ink – blobby, couldn’t finish itTons of diners on the Cannaregio canalPizzete for saleCake!The prettiest meringues I’ve ever seenCichetti – snacks for lunch – shrug, boring, expensive, very tinyThese snacks were better- note the Korean – I had battered mozzarella with anchovy – greasy and delicious
And, yes, Venice has fast food — misnomer! Italians don’t do ‘fast.’ At the McD’s – where I caved and decided a McMuffin for breakfast was better than a sweet pastry (the usual Italian breakfast food) there was one server, one cook, everything done slo mo. I left after 15 minutes of standing, certain I’d be another 15. At the KFC I had an awful time telling them what I wanted but eventually it arrived – a tiny container of barely BBQ beans, and a corn cobette – ah, roughage!
McDonald’sAnd you know who (both of them)
Shopping is interesting. There are a lot of small shops. I did see one department store near St Mark’s Square that looked absolutely fabulous but it wasn’t open yet so I couldn’t go in. I was not going back to that area again! Venetians also seem to like pretty fashion items, leather, and lots of lots of souvenirs here.
Shopping streetShoe fashionShopping in an alleyPretty bagsFruit and vegetable market by the Rialto BridgeRialto fish marketTourists shopping at RiatoPorticoes and columns at RialtoInside the Rialto Fish Market – there in some form since 1097Heaven knows what they were sellingBooksellerMemorials to the shopkeepers, everywhereOne of the hundreds of mask shopsSouvenir glass balloons – they seem nicer in dozens
Yes, Venice does have streets! On some of them you can’t tell that there’s a canal anywhere close. And it has squares. Once you get away from the canals peace settles and there are mostly locals, except for the occasional tour group. There are no cars and the roads may be cobbled or made of bricks. There are many narrow alleyways, some lined with homes and others just passageways to the next street or square. And sometimes there are trees, and parks. With no roads, you don’t see stop signs, traffic lights, or vehicles of any type. What you do see are people pulling or pushing large carts from place to place. It’s a whole other way of life and I wonder how it feels to have been born into such a place.
There are lots of old, old houses. There isn’t really anything new. There are also lots of renovation works, old cavernous and dirty spaces where people are working to bring yet another space up to scratch. As you walk along the canals, if you look up, you’ll see fantastically large rooms with very high ceilings and, if you’re lucky, art and tapestry hanging on the walls, and even magnificent chandeliers. (I tried to photograph one of these but it was dark and the image was blurred. Krish said it looked like there was a Chihuly.
Pictures speak louder than words…
My failed ‘Chihuly’
And always laundryOne of many streets that end at a canalNotice they are sometimes called Calles – Spanish influenceSometimes there are old signs in the pavementTrees!Some even with pomegranates
A park, with ruins!
Little squares
Big squares – St Mark’s – yes, large and with a very impressive cathedral!
Alleyways, passage ways, and entrancesCome in!
And some street art. I’m not fond of Italian street art but there were a few…
An Alice (Pasquini) from 2010I love the little street level cartoonsRoomz had a fewWhimsicalAnd academic
As we left Venice, there was a nice farewell. While wandering around the University area of San Polo, an older man was engrossed with playing his violin-type instrument. Finally, a truly romantic view of Venice.
We’ve been to Venice before many years ago. At that time we weren’t very experienced travellers. I remember arriving and immediately seeing the Grand Canal and taking the vaporetto (a motorised ferry barge-like vehicle, one of the only ways to get around Venice) to our hotel. That hotel wasn’t so easy to find and the room was very old fashioned but it had a canal right under the window and, by peering out carefully, we could see the Rialto Fish Market. Venice was packed with tourists when we were there then. I’m fond of telling people that I felt I was in Epcot (not that I’ve ever been) instead of the real Venice.
So when we decided to go back – Krish really regretted not buying a mask the first time so – we thought we’d go in October when it was quieter.
Our train took three and a half hours to get to Venice.
We went through pretty Verona on our way to VeniceA great reminder that Venice is coastal as you arrive
The station had had an overhaul but it was obvious right away that there were tons of people in town. As we left the station, thankful we didn’t have to take the vaporetto this time, we walked straight into the crowd. The place was teeming and we were already wondering if we should have come at all.
Leaving the station, with the Grand Canal straight aheadHeading away from the station, watching the crowds growFull force
We got off the crowded main street from the station towards the Rialto Bridge and St Mark’s Square as soon as we could. Immediately, you can feel the change. The streets are rough, the houses are simple, the bridges aren’t so grand and the canals are much narrower. This was more like it.
We were staying over in the Jewish ghetto and we knew from last time it would be quieter. Our directions weren’t very clear but Krish is a great navigator so pretty soon we found the place.
The bridge near our street The New Ghetto Gate – our streetWalking down our street towards our flat
Our Airbnb was called Romantic Cannaregio. So was it? No way but there we were! (My review is included at the end, if you’d like to read it. Rewriting it here might actually depress me.
Romantic? This is not what I mean by hole in the wall!
We ended up not being great fans of Venice. I think it’s somewhere everyone should see. It’s quite remarkable in many ways. However, it’s overrun by tourists, it’s very expensive and it just doesn’t seem like a real place, as noted. We were very lucky to be staying close to where real people lived and having the energy to walk around and explore. It’s a pedestrian and waterway city, with all of its inhabitants getting around in their various motorboats, as comfortable on the water as they are on land. Be prepared to walk your feet off even if you can afford the daily fare pass of 20 Euros a day!
However, about ten paces from our front door, this WAS romantic – throughout Venice are these gateways that are open to the water, for boats to be boarded and climbed out from
Despite many misgivings, I took over 400 photos of the place. It’s definitely picturesque and I knew that from the last time. I’m going to divide my thoughts into various chapters and share some photos that show Venice as I saw it.
My review for Romantic Cannaregio: I was disappointed with my stay here. First off, we got no real directions or instructions. Based on the descriptions, I was led to believe that someone would meet me or be in touch once we arrived. Instead we had to navigate our way to the flat (which isn’t easy to find when you aren’t used to the Venice geography) and there were no real instructions on how to use anything. In retrospect the photos do show the place as it is. However, I think some very good lighting was used to show it looking brighter and more relaxed than it was. In fact, it was dark and airless, with a hard white tiled floor that makes it look clinical. There’s a large piece of a wall missing in the living room, the couch is extremely hard and slippery so impossible to relax on. The fridge dripped water constantly onto anything we put in there. The bathroom light wasn’t working and was so small, it was difficult to turn around. We had to really explore to find any soap etc. As well, whenever we showered, the bathroom floor got a small flood. I had hoped there really would be romance since we went to Venice for a special anniversary but it’s tough to do when you can’t even sit together in your own space without sliding off the couch. This is one of the only places I’ve stayed in that had no tourist information, such as a map, or an idea on where to shop or eat locally, etc. Finally, a real killer of romance – printed pages stuck on the walls with a little bit of info/The Rules. I felt like I was staying in a hostel or prison. The only saving grace was a comfortable bed and the location – within the ghetto area, which is interesting, charming and somewhat away from the constant sound of luggage being pulled around, and the staggering throng of tourists in the centre of the city.
Third time trying and this year I finally managed to get a cooking lesson in Torino. My source was Bonappetour. I’ll definitely check this again for the future!
The course I chose was Market to Table with Rosemarie. The plan – meet for breakfast, go to the market, cook, eat! This reminded me of Lucy’s classes in Lyon so it was familiar. Always a little cautious, I set off on Friday morning just about 8am. I couldn’t find a single way to avoid the dreaded metro but ‘go’ it was.
Three Torets at BerniniThe metro at BerniniÂ
I’d done a little reading and, coincidentally, had stumbled over comments about Rosemarie and her cooking classes in other Torino blogs. That’s also how I discovered her blog! So when she walked into the little caffeteria, I knew her instantly. Accidental stalking pays off! We each had a pastry with pear and ginger and I had a ‘cappuccia’ – thanks to Rosemarie for teaching me that word.
The local market, Brunelleschi, is very small compared to Porta Palazzo and the markets Giovanni introduced me to but it’s got everything you’d need and it’s calmer and less rude. Rosemarie bought beans, pears, a cheese with peppercorns, some ricotta, five salted anchovies from Spain. It’s good to listen and pick up the market terms, hearing things that might be useful for me later. I was impressed by how the stall holders could make suggestions when Rosemarie told them what she was cooking. From here we moved on to a butcher where again they listened to the menu and knew what meat to cut up for stewing. And a generous stalk of sage, inside a twist of paper.
At the bakery, Rosemarie chose grissini and six crusty buns warm from the oven. At the wine store, they listened carefully to what we were going to eat and suggested the wine. As we left, Rosemarie told me they wanted me to have a biscuit – yum! I chose fig and nut.
At the enoteca. Fervent discussion about the choice of wine
Rosemarie lives on the third floor of a slightly older apartment building. We get there in a tiny lift whose doors are opened manually. I survive that risk too! The flat is large and homey. The whole thing is homey.
Rosemarie had invited another person over to help her with prep and cleaning. I’m surprised that it’s another Torino blogger that have I been reading, Sonia. (Did I find them through each other’s sites?) It feels a little odd knowing that I have had a glimpse of their Torino lives, while I’m a stranger. But it does feel like I’m among friends. That’s a good feeling.
It’s also a good feeling to have a helper while you’re cooking. Sonia set things out, cleaned up behind us, and was an expert hand with kneading the pasta dough. I learned a lot and I got to prep and help with the cooking. I’m pretty sure I could manage to cook all of these things with a little patience – not my strongest suit, going slowly.
The menu, as promised in email — Appetiser: acciughe al verde (Anchovies in green sauce) Starter: agnolotti al plin con burro e salvia (pinched agnolotti in butter and sage) Main: Fricandò di manzo (Piedmontese beef fricandò) Dessert: Pere cotte al vino (Pears poached in wine).
Liat’s brother and dad were coming to Torino and, if they wanted, we could combine numbers and go to the Gobino Chocolate Factory in Vanchiglietta. I’ve been trying to get a tour there for ages and this was a great opportunity. The decision dragged on a bit but finally it was all sorted.
I happen on Via Caglieri pretty often while walking but, wouldn’t you know it, on the day I needed to be there I felt totally lost. But we made it…and perhaps ten minutes before Liat and her family got there.
Our tour guide was a young woman whose English was very strong. We suited up in an ante room and off we went to check out the factory. This is smaller than Caffarel for sure but still commercial and noisy. The noise was a good touch – lending a bit of oompa loompa style to the whole thing. We saw the sacks of cocoa beans, and of sugar, and had a chance to see the cocoa nibs, the cocoa butter and the cocoa mass. That mass smells amazing – gives me a feeling of wanting to roll around in it! I wondered how long before it becomes overwhelming. (In fact, by the end of the tour I needed air!)
There are quite a few processes for the chocolate to go through before it finally reaches the wrapping stage. It was here we got a taste of the chocolate from the production line. It tastes better than Caffarel.
No photos allowed! So I took some of the showroom and then of the plate of samples they had for us to taste when we’d taken off the gear.
Gobino is an artisan chocolate factory that makes giandujotti, whole hazelnut chocolate, dark chocolate disks and cremini (layered chocolate) and a few related things. It’s not got the long history of Caffarel but it’s now our preferred chocolate.
AmarettiTasting tablePlate of chocolate to tasteYan reaching for the gianduiottiOn the way to Consorzio
Krish promised that this year we’d go to a restaurant each week. We’re not doing so well! So I booked an evening at Consorzio, a restaurant with a strong Torinese reputation. And it’s close. Straight down Via Milano, which runs parallel to the market and just a few streets down. Continue reading “Gobino and Consorzio”
